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Star Trek is a huge franchise. It has spawned millions of dollars worth of merchandise, from books to coffee mugs. The fans of Star Trek, whether they call themselves Trekkies or Trekkers, have a large appreciation for the franchise that sometimes reaches obsession-like status. Multiple television shows and movies have also been based in the Star Trek universe. Two of those Star Trek shows, Star Trek: The Next Generation (hereafter called The Next Generation) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (hereafter called Deep Space Nine), will be dealt with in this paper. But before those two shows are discussed, one must first describe how the Star Trek phenomenon began. And it all began with a series that wasn’t exactly a hit when it originally aired.

Star Trek, the original adventures of James T. Kirk and his motley crew, debuted in 1966 on NBC and barely lasted three seasons. In fact, it would have been gone from the schedule sooner than that, but the show had garnered a small but very vocal fan base and they were outraged at NBC when executives at the network announced in 1968 that they were pulling the show. The fans sent angry letters and campaigned strongly to have Trek returned, and it was, for a third and final season. However, in 1969 Star Trek was cancelled for good on NBC. At the time, it seemed that was that. The fans had tried their best, and did indeed succeed in getting Star Trek a stay of execution, but ultimately the show was cancelled.

Then syndication came. Paramount Studios, which owned the rights to Star Trek, distributed reruns of the show to local stations, where they proved to be huge ratings winners. Suddenly, there was a wave of renewed interest in Star Trek. Capitalizing on this interest, Filmation Studios, in cooperation with Roddenberry, produced an animated series called, simply, Star Trek. It debuted in 1973 and ran two seasons on NBC. Unlike other Star Trek revival series, the animated Star Trek was mainly an extension of the original series. Most of the cast of the original series returned to voice their characters in animated form. Many writers from the original series, as well as other prominent science fiction writers, also wrote episodes of the animated Star Trek. The show was very serious, and focused on intelligent science fiction, but was unfortunately confined to Saturday mornings because executives at NBC figured that, since it was a cartoon, Saturday mornings was where it belonged.

However, the animated Star Trek deserves a mention because it was very important in the evolution of Star Trek. It was in this animated series that a holodeck was first used. The holodeck, where people can go to act out their fantasies, would later become a staple of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Also, it was in the animated series that Captain Kirk’s middle name (Tiberius) was first divulged. Also important was that the show displayed a vast variety of new worlds and new civilizations. Since it was an animated series, the writers could get a lot more creative than they could in the original series, since there were few limitations on what the animators could draw. However, though the show was important, critically well-received, and even received an Emmy in 1975 for best children’s series, it never could gain a very large audience, mainly because it was shown on Saturday mornings, when many members of its intended audience (adults) weren’t watching. NBC cancelled the show in 1975. But, again, Star Trek was not going to roll over and play dead.

In 1979, the first Star Trek movie came, and this started a series of Star Trek films which were released, about every two years, throughout the 1980s and 1990s. These films usually received mixed reviews from critics, but they were very popular with the public. In fact, Star Trek became so popular that there was another revival of the series in 1987. That year saw the debut of The Next Generation. The popularity of this show sparked two more television Treks: Deep Space Nine in 1993, and Star Trek: Voyager in 1995. The focus of the rest of this paper as to which one is the better show.

The Next Generation was created by Gene Roddenberry, who was also behind the original Star Trek. The Next Generation made its debut in 1987. In the series, Captain Jean-Luc Picard commanded the starship Enterprise, seventy-five years after Captain Kirk helmed a ship by the same name. Picard had a fairly diverse crew on his ship. His first officer was Commander William Riker. Serving as Chief Engineer and Second Lieutenant was Geordi La Forge; Chief of Security was Lt. Worf; Chief Medical Officer was Dr. Beverly Crusher; Ship’s Counselor was Lt. Commander Deanna Troi; and the Operations Manager was Lt. Commander Data. An additional Chief of Security, Tasha Yar, was only around during the show’s first season (1987-88). Chief Medical Officer Dr. Katherine Pulaski temporarily filled in for Dr. Crusher during the show’s second season (1988-89). Wesley Crusher, Beverly’s son, eventually became an ensign before his departure after the show’s third season.

At first, The Next Generation seemed like a bit of a rehash of Star Trek. This is not all that surprising when you consider that Roddenberry probably felt most comfortable sticking to the formula that he worked with in the 1960s. Data seemed like a 24^th-century reincarnation of Mr. Spock. Data was an android and Spock was a Vulcan. They both went about things very logically. One has to believe that the similarity between Data and Spock was far from a coincidence. After all, Spock was one of the most popular characters from the original Star Trek. Data was very, well, robotic in the first season. It wasn’t until later seasons that he would begin his quest for humanity. In fact, Data’s similarity to Spock was so close that in the first episode of The Next Generation, original Star Trek character Dr. McCoy asked Data where his pointed ears were.

Even the opening title sequence of The Next Generation was very similar to that of Star Trek, with Picard speaking Kirk’s famous "space…the final frontier" speech practically word-for-word. There were two important changes, though. "To boldly go where no man has gone before" was changed to "To boldly go where no one has gone before." (yay, political correctness!) The bigger change, though, was in the length of time of the mission. In the opening sequence of Star Trek, the mission was defined as a five- year mission. In reality, of course, it didn’t even last that long, as the show bit the dust after only three years. In The Next Generation, though, the mission was merely defined as "continuing." This was useful for it meant that The Next Generation could, in theory, stay on the air as long as was economically feasible, and there wouldn’t have to be any changes made in the overall concept of the show. This was important, because The Next Generation became a big hit in its first season, and stayed on the air for six more seasons. Also, starting with the second season, the writing improved, and The Next Generation became a very enjoyable show.

Starting with the second season, the characters on The Next Generation were better fleshed-out. In the first season, the characters didn’t seem very real. Granted, a lot of this had to do with that the producers wanted to jump in with the action so that the show could quickly build a following. However, as a result, character development was placed on the back burner sometimes, and motivation for characters’ actions was not always there. Also, the first season had hard dramatic episodes mixed with lighter, more humorous episodes. While this would be fine in later seasons of the show, by constantly switching tones in the first season of the show, it was a little difficult to establish what the tone would be. While people watching the show probably knew it was science fiction (after all, it was Star Trek), it would have been nice if fewer of the first-season episodes were played for laughs.

As for the stories, while they were still science fiction, they became more character-driven than previous first-season stories. This was good because it allowed the viewer to develop relationships with the characters and allowed the motivations of the characters to be developed. Continued success of the series also meant that the writers were given ample opportunities to expand the characters. The writers took advantage of this opportunity and most of the characters became three-dimensional characters that the audience found themselves caring about. This was most true with Data. No longer just Spock in robotic clothing, Data began a quest for humanity in the second season that continued for the rest of The Next Generation’s life.

The great writing of The Next Generation is what made the show a success. The realistic characters, the complicated situations, and the memorable lines (such as when Picard, in defending Data, and all androids, to a Federation judge, says "Are we prepared to condemn him, and all who come after him, to servitude and slavery? Your Honor, Starfleet was founded to seek out new life... well, THERE IT SITS!") had more impact than the science fiction. This is not to say that the science fiction aspect of The Next Generation wasn’t great as well; indeed, it was. The show was a perfect balance of science fiction and compelling drama. By the time it ended its run in 1994, The Next Generation had earned a place as one of the finest shows in television history.

I wish I could say the same for Deep Space Nine. Looking to cash in on the continued overwhelming success of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine made its debut in 1993. The show was set aboard a space station, called Deep Space 9. The station was commanded by Captain Benjamin Sisko. His Chief of Security was Odo Ital; Science Officer was Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax; Chief of Operations was Miles O’Brien; Chief Medical Officer was Dr. Julian Bashir; First Officer was Col. Kira Nerys; and the bartender aboard Deep Space 9 was Quark. At the start of the series’ fourth season (1995-96), Lt. Commander Worf (from The Next Generation) was brought aboard, in an effort by the producers to boost lagging ratings. When Terry Farrell (who played Jadzia Dax) left Deep Space Nine in 1998, the Jadzia Dax character had her "soul" (the Dax part of her) transplanted into a new character, Ezri Dax.

Though the show had some on-the-surface similarities to The Next Generation (in fact, one could say Deep Space Nine was a spin-off of The Next Generation, as Miles O’Brien was a recurring character on The Next Generation), they really weren’t a lot alike. As the show was set aboard a rather stationary space station, there was no "new life and new civilizations" to seek out. Instead, the characters sought out new ways to interact with each other and get on each other’s nerves. Yes, unlike the characters in The Next Generation, the characters in Deep Space Nine were often in conflict with another. Some argue that this made the show more realistic. While this may be true, it doesn’t make Deep Space Nine a better show. Realism does not always equal quality. The characters would bite back and forth at each other, and nothing would really get accomplished.

Another unappealing aspect of Deep Space Nine was its tone. The show was relentlessly dark. I’m not just talking about the production qualities (although they were pretty dark too). The mood of the show was dark, much more so than The Next Generation. Greed and conflicting co-workers abounded on Deep Space Nine. Money had little if any presence in the previous Star Trek series, yet it was a real issue on Deep Space Nine. Also, characters were often angry with one another, and some seemed just plain bitter. As a result of all this, Deep Space Nine just wasn’t all that fun to watch. A lot of this was due to the fact Gene Roddenberry was no longer involved with the show. The creator of both Star Trek and The Next Generation, Roddenberry was largely responsible for those two series’ optimistic view of the future. Unfortunately, Roddenberry died in 1991, and, therefore, had no impact on Deep Space Nine, and the show suffered as a result. Deep Space Nine did not take a very optimistic view of the future. Some proponents of the show argue that this makes the show more realistic. Well, was it realism that Roddenberry was after when he created Star Trek, or was it entertainment? After all, television often serves as a form of escapism, and Roddenberry probably intended shows in the Star Trek universe to serve as escapes from reality, not as reminders as to how grim life can sometimes be.

The Next Generation was science fiction as compelling drama. There were interesting battles to be fought, and interesting new situations were explored. Deep Space Nine, on the other hand, was a flat-out space opera, and not a terribly interesting one at that. People would sit around and quarrel often. Few new worlds were explored, and when there were potentials for interesting battles, things would just get bogged down with greed and character conflict. If I wanted a lot of talk without a lot of action, and angry characters biting at each other, I could have watched a daytime soap opera.

My feelings towards The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine have by now been made pretty clear. In fact, they can be summed up, quite simply, by relaying a recap of a recent evening when I viewed episodes of both shows back-to-back. The Next Generation was so enjoyable to watch, that I almost didn’t believe it when the hour was up and the end credits started to roll. However, it seemed like an interminable amount of time had passed before the opening title sequence even began on Deep Space Nine. It almost put me in a deep sleep. Give me The Next Generation over Deep Space Nine any day of the week.